Blog Post Topic: payers

In 2008, we released the second white paper focused on the issue of payment assurance in healthcare. The first outlined the challenges and opportunities for providers, but this new white paper articulates what most in the industry still aren’t talking about – payers play a critical role in payment assurance for providers even as consumer payment responsibility increases. Ten years later, we have re-released the Healthcare Payments White Paper for Payers because the ability for payers to deliver payment assurance to

For years, industry experts have been proclaiming that consumerism will be the wave of the future in healthcare. However, that prediction is now a reality. For payer organizations, “business as usual” will now mean connecting with members on their terms – digitally. But, there’s no reason to reinvent the wheel. Instead, payers can look to leaders in other industries who have already set a high bar for digital interactions with consumers. Here are three resolutions to help payers finally enter

To stay competitive, payers are developing more comprehensive benefits packages that include health, dental, wellness and vision plans for more attractive offerings. However, billing for these different plans means coordinating disparate systems and varied employer group billing preferences.

To bill employer groups, payers send out multiple paper statements to collect payments across all of the plans and members – each managed separately by the employer group. For the individual market, members may receive separate bills for each plan with different payment

The concept of health insurance in the U.S. first started during the Great Depression when Baylor University Hospital in Texas offered teachers the benefit of prepaid hospital expenses for a $5 per month fee. However, it wasn’t until World War II that health insurance became a widespread benefit offered by employers. WWII forced employers to rely on “fringe benefits” like health insurance to attract more workers to meet the higher demand for resources to help fight the war, while food

Consumer engagement is top of mind for many in the healthcare industry. This is especially true for payers who are challenged to connect with members in the individual markets. (Read more on consumer engagement here.)

However, employer groups still make up a large portion of the covered lives for most payers. To stay competitive, payers increasingly are developing comprehensive benefits packages that include health, dental, wellness and vision plans for more attractive offerings. Yet, the billing process for these plan premiums

Healthcare is one of the last industries where the majority of information is primarily transmitted via paper, including: EOPs, EOBs, mailed paper statements, paper check payments, etc. Overall, the ability to support these paper-based transactions requires manual processes that cost payers significant resources – consider that 16 percent of total healthcare spending is on administrative costs. Take a look at our infographic below for more on the true cost of paper in the industry.

Healthcare is one of the last industries where the majority of information is primarily transmitted via paper, including: EOPs, EOBs, mailed paper statements, paper check payments, etc. Overall, the ability to support these paper-based transactions requires manual processes that cost payers significant resources – consider that 16 percent of total healthcare spending is on administrative costs. Check out our infographic for the true cost of paper in the industry.

Going paperless is a challenge for organizations of all sizes and types,

Healthcare spending grew to $3.4 trillion in 2016 and is expected to reach $5.5 trillion by the year 2025 (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services). Much of this growth has been and continues to be spurred by increasing consumer responsibility for both healthcare services and health plan premiums.

For healthcare services, payment responsibility has increased in part due to high deductible health plans, which have become increasingly more popular with employer groups and in the individual market. In 2010, 10 million

sixth The Trends in Healthcare Payments Sixth Annual Report: 2015 is now available to download – free of charge. For the last six years, InstaMed has released this report to objectively educate the market and promote awareness, change and greater efficiency through quantitative data from the InstaMed Network and qualitative data from healthcare providers, payers and consumers surveyed nationwide.

We listened. We learned. We collaborated. We even had a little fun. In no particular order, here are our top 10 favorite moments from the InstaMed 2016 User Conference.

See a Video Recap

Our Keynote Speaker Emphasized the Impact of the Digital Experience in Healthcare
We kicked off our conference with a keynote presentation from Brian P. Kalis of Accenture Digital. Brian delivered a data-driven overview of the changing nature of healthcare payments, including a look at the market disruptors that are influencing